Interested in buying a very fast SSD? In this guide, I will shed light on all aspects of this intricate component, and then go on to select the best SSD SATA, M.2 and PCIeon each price range.
Do you want a fast PC? Then buying an external or internal SSD is a must. The problem has always been the price: until recently, solid-state drives were so expensive that it was the norm to buy a modest-sized HD SSD Hard Drive, on which to install only the operating system and the few applications used most frequently and accompany it with a secondary mechanical unit as the main memory for games, photos, videos and all the rest.
Fortunately, prices have fallen dramatically in recent months and now you can buy a good quality 500 GB SSD even for less than 100 Dollars.
But which SSD to choose and buy, considering the number of models available on the market? In this article, we have classified the best SSDs, both external and internal, according to our experience of use, by increasing price, and we are sure that any user will be able to find the best SSD to meet their needs.
Prepared? We will start talking about concepts and then with a list of recommended models. We start!
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The SSD is the best ally of your computer
The biggest bottleneck that a computer has had is the mechanical hard drives, although discs with a lot of speed were created, they have never reached the reading and writing rates of the current SSD. What used to take several minutes to start the operating system now is a matter of seconds, the same happens with games and applications.
When you try an SSD you will never go back to the mechanical hard drive.
What is an SSD?
First, we are going to solve some doubts, the first is this important question. The SSD, literally known as the Solid State Drive, is a data storage device, like a traditional hard drive (HDD), which has become very popular in recent years. Unlike HDDs, SSDs do not have moving parts inside, something that translates into several advantages as we will see later. Inside a hard disk, we find a printed circuit (PCB) on which are located the NAND memory chips, the controller, the connectors for data and power mainly. NAND memory chips are responsible for storing the information in an SSD, the controller is responsible for managing the operation of the SSD (does all the black work) so it is the most important component for better performance and durability. Finally, the data and power connectors are used to connect the SSD to the motherboard and the power supply respectively.
Advantages of the SSD
As we have seen, the SSD has no mobile parts inside. This results in completely silent operation and low energy consumption while generating less heat. However, the most important difference between the SSD and HDD is without a doubt the performance. The absence of mechanical parts makes the SSDs much faster than the HDD, making Windows can start in less than 10 seconds and the programs will have almost instantaneously. The SSDs are also capable of multitasking at the same time without a noticeable loss of performance, something that cannot be said of traditional hard drives.
In our selection, we have decided to include units from 250 GB capacity because they are the ones that offer the best relationship between price, features,
As we have already said, a solid state unit has many advantages over a hard disk drive, then we list other important points:
- Smallest physical size: SSDs occupy much less space than hard drives, especially in the case of M.2 units that are a small card with a usual size of 22 mm x 80 mm. A feature that is very important in laptops and mini PCs.
- Lower energy consumption: the lack of mechanical parts, the SSD require much less power to operate compared to a hard drive. This is very relevant in equipment powered by a battery, and in large servers where hundreds of units are used.
- Higher performance: In the SSD everything works electronically, being much faster and efficient.
- Greater reliability: the absence of mechanical parts makes SSDs much less prone to breakdowns than mechanical hard drives.
Disadvantages of the SDD
We already know the great advantages of SDD. However, the world is not pink and where there are advantages there are also disadvantages. The first one is a price per GB much higher than in the HDD. Although the price difference per GB has been greatly reduced since the SSD reached on the market, the truth is that it still remains very high, to get an idea a 120 GB SSD has approximately the same as an HDD of 2 TB. Although I personally advise you to make the effort because it is a 100% recommended purchase.
Another drawback of SSDs is that the total amount of information that can be written to them is much smaller than what HDDs allow. SSD manufacturers typically ensure a three-year device life by writing 40-50 GB of data per day, if less is written it will last longer. Therefore, it is recommended to accompany the SSD with an HDD for mass storage of data. In addition to the price, HDD is able to support mountains of much higher written data.
Another drawback of SSDs is data recovery. It is more difficult to recover data from an SSD if the device is damaged. In the case of HDD if it breaks down we can take it to a company specialized in data recovery to analyze and retrieve all possible information.
However, this procedure to recover the information of an HDD is extremely expensive and at the domestic level, this advantage of the HDD does not make sense. We must also bear in mind that it is much easier for an HDD to fail than an SSD does.
Different formats available
The SSDs are presented in different formats. The most common format is the 2.5-inch SATA III connector. These SSDs are very similar to the 2.5-inch HDD and are the most popular for their price/performance ratio and for the highest compatibility with motherboards, you can install one on any motherboard.
Due to the performance limitations of the SATA III connector, more modern SSD devices have emerged with more advanced connections that allow greater performance while some of them are presented in a more compact form. Among these other types of SSD, we highlight those based on M.2, PCI-Express and
The new laptops and motherboards include the M.2 connection that supports higher speed.
Best SSD: The fastest and most reliable models
If you will follow me in the next few lines, I am sure that then you will be able to carry out your purchase autonomously, carefully evaluating your needs.
Also, read our other guides on the best 3D mice for CAD, USB-C SSD external, external HDD, and the best PC webcams.
Crucial MX500 – best budget external SSD hard drive
Difficult to find a faster SATA SSD than the Crucial MX500, without opting for a professional (and more expensive) unit.
Available with capacities of 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB, the performance of the MX500 is the best: sequential read speeds in both CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD are almost rapid, while random performance has been pushed the most in high possible.
In PCMark 8, the overall score of the MX500 corresponded exactly to the Samsung 860 Evo and its total band score was beaten only by the much more expensive Samsung 860 Pro. The disc also sees the debut of Micron’s 64-layer 3D NAND, going up from the MX300’s 32-layer NAND. A great cheap SSD.
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Samsung 860 EVO – best selling external SSD
The Samsung 850 Evo since it came out, thanks to its extraordinary performance and convenience, has become a real bestseller. And, the Samsung 860 Evo is absolutely the right continuation. Although limited by the SATA 3 interface, the Samsung 860 Evo offers performance that is repeated on its predecessor with better read and write speeds, while maintaining its low price. The 860 Evo is the best SSD for anyone looking for the right value for money.
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Transcend 256GB MLC SATA III – best cheap external SSD
All the
The cost is very low, being a memory with aluminum case and reading performance of 560MB / sec and writing of 460 MB / sec.
It supports SMART commands, TRIM & NCQ and above all the DevSleep mode. I also consider them among the best SSD in 2019.
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Samsung 970 PRO NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD Hard Drive
For years, Samsung has brought some of the best internal HD SSDs on the market, and even if other manufacturers like Western Digital and Adata are entering its territory, the Samsung 970 Pro is still the best M.2 SSD that you can buy if you’re looking for raw speed. And, even if the reading speeds have not improved compared to the 960 Pro of the previous generation, the writing speeds show a notable increase, up to 2.700 MB / s, so as to maintain the title of “SSD faster”. If you are looking for the best SSD, without compromise, you can’t go wrong with the Samsung 970 Pro.
It makes it the perfect candidate to update your PC and give it a new life. Note: not all motherboards have this connection and you should check, but you can also ask us.
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Samsung 970 EVO – top internal SSD M.2 hard drive on the market
The Samsung SSD Evo hard drive line continues to improve and the Samsung 970 Evo is not the exception. And, now that up to 2 TB of storage is available, you’ll never have to worry about running out of space.
It is a more economical version of the PRO model that we have seen before, it maintains the Samsung Polaris SM961 controller but with less durable 48-layer 3D-VNAND TLC memory. With these features, it manages to reach reading rates of 3200 MB / s and writing of 1800 MB / s, in this case, the random performance remains at 380,000 / 360,000 IOPS.
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WD Black 500GB High-Performance NVMe PCIe Internal SSD
When you play the best PC games, there’s nothing worse than interrupting the gaming experience for an endless loading screen. Fortunately, with the WD Black NVMe SSD, you can basically say goodbye to finished loading forever, as this solid-state drive wipes your pants off every other SSD in its price range.
Equipped with a Marvell 88SS1093 controller and SanDisk 15nm TLC memory it is capable of sequential read and
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Samsung 860 PRO 512GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD
For a SATA 3 SSD it may not be the fastest interface in the world, but with the 860 Pro, Samsung shows that after all there is still a chance to improve. Offering storage capacities up to 4 TB and transfer rates approaching the maximum theoretical SATA III connection and top-of-the-range reliability and security, the Samsung 860 Pro is the best
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Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
The Crucial BX300 is one of the cheapest options but with excellent components. It is ideal for those looking for an SSD device with the best possible compromise between capacity, price
The Dynamic Write Acceleration technology is responsible in this case to improve the performance of the device to make it even more competitive. Finally, it also supports 256bit AES encryption. With these specifications is up to 15 times faster than an HDD and more reliable to not contain mechanical parts, as in all SSD.
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Kingston Digital SA1000 PCIe NVMe M.2
The company aims at the low end of the NVMe SSD with a truly amazing product. In fact, the Kingston A1000 offers a nice increase in performance at the same price as a SATA SSD. To achieve this, however, the manufacturer has necessarily made compromises: it does not always manage to exceed the results of high-level SATA SSDs, while in comparison to the best high-end M.2 SSDs, it is decidedly lower.
However, given the competitive price, it is totally permissible, especially considering that the SATA SSDs in M.2
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Intel Optane SSD 900P Series – best PCIe SSD Hard Drive
It can be said that the SSDs with the Optane brand are made of quite another paste. The Intel Optane SSD 900p makes use of the recent proprietary 3D XPoint technology that promises many advantages over SSDs so far on the market. First of all, a very low latency much closer to the very fast RAM memory, a considerable gap compared to other SSDs. Furthermore, performance does not deteriorate with the gradual filling of the unit, unlike other storage solutions.
What’s more, the 900p series has scored multiple performance records, especially in casual reading and writing. What can be called the best internal SSD ever? Do you want the top of the SSD without paying any attention? The Intel Optane SSD 900P is certainly an exceptional product.
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Conclusion and final words about the best SSD
The SSD or solid state units are the fashionable components at present, the arrival of this storage technology has revolutionized modern computing, to the point that most gourmets consider them already essential nowadays. The speed, longevity and short waiting times are a basic component and it is worth euro that we invest in it.
To continue working hard we request you to share it in your social networks and this information reaches more people. I also encourage you to leave a comment with your impressions or if it helped you. What SSD do you have? What SSD do you want to buy or are you thinking? You can ask us in the comment box below. Thank you.